Have you ever had one of those mornings where nothing will do except a tender, gooey, and shamelessly large cinnamon roll? If so then this recipe is for you! Whether we make them ourselves, buy them from the bakery or mall food court there is something about cinnamon rolls that make you feel like a little kid. This recipe is one that I have been tweaking ever since I found it several years ago. They are perfect-the way a cinnamon roll should be! Warm ooey, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls topped with rich cream cheese frosting and worth every last calorie! 😀

Don’t worry if you don’t have 3 hours in the morning to make these incredible cinnamon rolls just make them the night before and let them rise in the refrigerator over night. In the morning just pop them into the preheated oven and bake. They also freeze well so you can have indulgent cinnamon rolls even during a busy weekday morning.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar; add yeast and let rest 10 minutes until foamy.

Add butter, eggs, flour, remaining sugar and salt to the yeast mixture and mix with the dough hook on medium-low until thoroughly combined, about 5 minutes

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Line 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang over pan edges. Butter the parchment.

Roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with ⅓ cup butter, leaving a 1/4″ margin at the long side of dough. Sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Use the rolling pin to roll over the sugar/cinnamon mixture a few times. Roll up the dough tightly, under-tucking after each completed rollover. Cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls into prepared 9×13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese, ½ cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20-22 minutes. Once finished baking flip the pan over to allow all of the cinnamon drippings to recoat the rolls, let sit 1-2 minutes. Turn rolls back over and spread with half of the frosting, let sit 2-3 minutes and then spread with remaining frosting.

oh my! These look simply scrumptious! I have a few yummy cinnamon roll recipes but this one will have to go on my list too. I can just imagine the incredible aroma that was wafting through your house as these baked!!

I can totally relate to having days where the cinnamon roll cravings are off-the-hook! These look absolutely…perfect! They are perfectly round with a perfect cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle. Now THAT’S a cinnamon roll! 🙂

Just wanted to add – I used to enjoy them a lot when I was younger and my son when he was barely 2 always wanted one at the mall when I went grocery shopping. Brings back memories! I used to not have to worry about my weight so much in those days (some but not too much). I also liked a cinnamon bun that was deep fried, I think – it was the most awesome gooey, soft bun you could imagine. It was completely dark in color too – very different. I used to get them on my way to Panorama in British Columbia in the springtime. Yummy! Okay, before I write a little book….bye for now!

Oh my gosh Christina, if I had that much icing in the morning, I’d be bouncing around for the rest of the day! Cinnamon rolls are such a guilty pleasure, love them. I think I can actually smell these ones, mm…

These are great! I’ve been using a different cinnamon roll recipe for a few years and have been very satisfied with it, but I gave this one a try and it is my new go-to recipe! “Sensational” is a perfectly descriptive word for them!

Heating up the oven to 200 degrees then shutting it off helps with rising. You heat up the oven just slightly then cover the bowl the dough is in with plastic wrap and place it in the warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size.